


Alis' Evidence

by Waruitenshi



Series: Alis' Adventures in Arkhamland [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alice being creepy, Alice in Wonderland References, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Creepypasta, Eldritch, Gen, Identity Issues, Implied Slash, Jervis gets smacked, M/M, Mentally Disturbed Alice, No Incest, Obsessive Behavior, One-Sided Attraction, Pansexual Character, Plot Twists, Pre-Slash, Rhyming, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-05 02:12:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11003835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waruitenshi/pseuds/Waruitenshi
Summary: "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again." In which Alice Tetch & the male nurse she becomes obsessed with learns that she doesn’t just cause madness, she embodies it. One-sided Alice/Male OMC. Rated “M” for Muchness! My attempt at giving Alice a backstory with some plot twists.





	1. It's My Own Invention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited this again and I hope I got as many mistakes as I could out of it. X3 So I think I'm happy with it now. LoL  
> If you want to know who my OMC Alister Wright is, please go to the previous work in this series called "His Name is Alis". Here is the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11140935
> 
> All right, so I wasn't exactly "okay" with Gotham trying to pass Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter off as some pedophile-sister-rapist-molester type of guy. I just don't really buy it okay? I grew up with the cute, sweet, misunderstood, lonely, mad as a hatter Jervis Tetch from BTAS and that's the one I love/favorite! X3 So please allow me a take at shaking things up and ridding the whole "Alice Tetch" is his sister thing by weaving a tale that resolves that. It MAY start off seeming like he is, but you'll find out that the so-called "Alice" isn't who she's made herself out to be. M'kay?! X3 Please be patient, this is my first fic for Gotham and I love the show so much and have so many pairings that I ship! <3 I also LOVE Jervis' newspaper hat. <3
> 
> Anywho, so while I was re-watching all the Hatter episodes, I couldn’t help but notice how Alice was so quick to scream that she wasn’t a “monster” and how she looked so ashamed and uncertain about it like even she didn’t believe her own words, and so I got an idea of a backstory for her character. I’ve actually known people who were abused in some way or another and ended up becoming like the very person (or people) who abused them. I've known people who suffer from a variety of mental conditions/disorders, and been on the bad end of their "episodes"/"fits", so I'm adding some personal experience with the wonders of fan fiction to make backstories for both her and Jervis! Remember it’s AU (alternate universe) and fan fiction. Don’t like, don’t read. Also, I like having an OC who CAN be a BAMF sometimes and is smart, but also has flaws and weird quirks, and in general is like a real life person (but with powers XD) just like everyone else. But I also felt I needed an OC with a healing factor if he was to survive not only Arkham but also Gotham City life in general. XD I don’t know how the others do it sometimes but mine has a little help. Anywho, I may or may not make a squeal to this in which Jervis ends up meeting my OMC (which I AM working on) so if I do then this will basically lay the groundwork for me to write more fics for this OMC. X3 I hope ya’ll like him. Please be kind. They can’t all be as big a hit as Hatter or Batman who have decades of followers and background and story, m’kay? X3 Oh and I call Hugo Strange Dr. Strange, Doctor Strange or sometimes Professor Strange. I don’t care if Doctor Strange is ALSO a MARVEL hero. Bitch at MARVEL or DC for that. I didn’t make ’em, I just play 'em! Lmfao
> 
> *Soul Mate AU Rundown!: In this AU (Alternate Universe), the concept of soul mates exists, where everyone is supposed to have someone with whom they are destined/fated to be with for the rest of their lives and in every life afterwards and no matter what you do, you two will be inexplicably drawn to one another. Everyone is born with a soul mark, BUT it only appears once you turn 18 years old. The soul mark is what your soul mates pet name for you and will be written in their handwriting over their heart. When your soul mate sees it, they will be able to know it’s theirs and the mystic bond between you will strengthen and all that fun stuff. But during that time, you may acquire traits, habits, or even skills your soul mate has. Yay! For example: If one has a penchant for rhyming when angry or irritated, you might find yourself rhyming when you are upset or feeling upset for no reason and rhyming. If you hum a song they might hum a song. It all varies on the strength of the bond you have, which becomes even greater once you finally meet and reveal your marks to one another. TA DA! Hope this explains stuff. If not, please enjoy the ride anyway.

**_"If you drink much from a bottle marked "poison," it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later." ~ Alice in Wonderland._ **

* * *

One evening, while working rather late, Alister thought he heard something get knocked over and figured he’d better check it out. His pace hastened when a shrill scream soon followed it, and he arrived just in time to see a crazed nurse attacking a poor young girl, who looked to be in her early twenties, but he would later learn that she was twenty-one.

Violet eyes flitting for something to sedate her with, he grabbed onto a thick metal tray that had gotten knocked over and used it to bash the woman over the head. She was stunned, but before she could try to turn around he bopped her harder; because Alister saw enough horror movies in his life and lived a few to know you _shouldn’t_ just stand there like a doofus and wait for that shit.

This time the woman staggered to her knees and tried to grab at him; hissing and making inhuman garbled shrieking sounds as she tried to scratch at him. Alis had grown up learning to react rather than freeze up (at least for the most part) and when he saw how the whites of her eyes were red and the iris’ were some freaky blue color, he couldn’t help yelling “GAH!” before he panicked (Alis style) and started repeatedly bashing her over the head with the tray like some sort of zombie whack-a-mole.

He didn’t stop until she stopped moving and had flopped down onto the floor. Alis stood there, chest heaving as he held the metallic tray, like one does when they’re waiting for a zombie to pop back up in a game, and try to attack him again.

His hair was disheveled and the short silvery bangs stuck to the thin sheen of sweat on his forehead from a mixture of adrenaline, panic and a little bit of effort, as he tried to slow his breathing; his heart feeling like it was about to burst out of his chest as the adrenaline pumped through his veins.

Swallowing, he looked over to the girl with golden brown hair sitting sprawled on the floor with her back pressed to the wall looking almost about as terrified as he felt. Though whether at him or the scary nurse on the floor he couldn’t quite tell yet.

“You… you okay?” He breathed; voice a tad strained as he tried to get his mouth to remember how to speak while his mind tried to figure out what the hell could’ve done THAT to… wait…

Alister peered at the name tag on her shirt to and saw with shock that it was Nurse Dotkins. Huh… She didn’t _quite_ look the same. Maybe it was the freaky black spidery veins all over her face, bluish pale skin, red and blue eyes and rabid appearance…

The young woman glanced from the unconscious nurse on the floor and then back to him and gave him a tentative nod. “I… think so… yeah.” Her voice was barely a squeak above a whisper, but Alis heard her.

He took the tray and cautiously gave the Dotkins a few experimental nudges before kneeling down to check her pulse. “Hm. She’s alive. Just knocked out.” Nurse Wright assured thoughtfully, and he saw the girls relieved expression.

But then some sort of manic panic quickly set in and she scurried to her knees as tears started streaking down her face; looking around frantically for something. “Wait, no! We have to get rid of her!” She exclaimed; as if the threat had only just begun.

Before she could move, the nimble nurse was at her side and had placed both of his hands on her shoulders in an effort to calm her. “Whoa there, Miss. Hold up. What are you talkin’ about and _why_?” He tried to ask in an even tone.

The lass was freaking out too much to make much sense and was just repeating over and over they had to get rid of that woman before it was too late. “HEY!” He barked in a sharp tone he sometimes used to get someone’s attention. “Open your mouth a little wider when you speak!”

It worked and the golden brunette snapped to attention to stare at him with wide eyes full of bemusement and fear; wondering why the hell he spoke so strangely. “I need you to _focus_ , Miss. Okay? If I’m gonna help you, I need to know _why_. Now spill!” He instructed; his voice now back to it’s calmer level but firm and leaving no room for argument.

He saw her try to speak and told her to take a breath. She took a deep, shuddering one and closed her eyes as she began to explain in a shaky voice; like she didn’t know whether to scream or cry. “My b-blood. It’s… p-poisonous…”

Alis quirked an eyebrow in disbelief as he spared a thoughtful glance to the nurse, who had black veins running throughout her face. “ _Yeeeeeah_ … that looks more like a _virus_ than a poison. Try again, Girlie.”

Tear filled eyes shot open and she looked at him as if just realizing he was there. “I… Y-yes… It is! I-it makes people sick!” She told him in a rush. “I see… So, it makes people crazy if they touch it?” The brunette nodded frantically. “Is there any cure?” She shook her head with a rather regretful look.

“Ah. Got it.” Alis sighed and grabbed the walkie talkie off the back pocket of his scrubs to contact Dr. Strange and inform him of what happened. Hugo told him to carefully bag the body and take it to Firefly to have her burn it as that was the best way to dispose of it.

At that he gave a glance to the brunette for confirmation and she gave a gloomy nod; obviously placing all the guilt on herself. The agitated hybrid pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned as he sighed.

Okay, okay… It’s not the first time he had to dispose of a body when one of the inmates just up and expired for some reason Hugo couldn’t figure out or one of the staff got offed by one of them. Not to mention the people, human or non-human or half human that his own relatives had either killed or eaten for whatever reason who taught him what to do.

And yeah, one time, years ago when his sister Morgan had gathered up the courage to go on a class fieldtrip so long as Alister went with her, and she ended up with some scary ass stalker creep from one of her classes who tried to attack and rape her when she went to the restroom at a restaurant where their class went for lunch, Alis _may_ have beaten him to death with his bare hands as he venomously growled “ _Off_ with your _head_!” But this… felt different.

He knew this woman was alive and that she hadn’t knowingly done anything to harm him or anyone he cared about… Even if she wasn’t… well, _her_ anymore, as Hugo was trying to convince him.

Not like he needed it. The Horror halfling could _feel_ and even _smell_ it wasn’t her anymore. Like her whole chemical makeup had been altered. Dotkins just wasn’t… well… Dotkins now.

But when he spared the frightened, quietly weeping girl a glance to see how she was doing it reminded him of that night, with how his older sister was curled up in a heap in the corner of her dressing room after the attack, and damn if it didn’t bring up that strong, familiar desire to protect and make it all better like his inner nurse screamed he should.

With his mind made up and a new sense of determination set, Alister set himself to the unfortunate task at hand, idly thinking _‘Talking of axes, chop off her head!’_ Though… Just to be sure no more freaky monster movie pop ups happened, Alis got a syringe and shot the infected Nurse Dotkins with a ton of sedative before turning back to the young woman.

“Yo Miss. You got a name? I’m Nurse Wright, but you can call me Alister, or Alis. Whichever you like.” He offered with a small, friendly smile. At first, upon hearing “Alis” the females eyes went wide with curiosity and surprise, then she fidgeted a bit with the sleeve of her shirt, and ended up flinching in pain when she moved.

Frowning, Alis hurried over to her and grabbed her wrists and moved her folded up arms out of the way to reveal a scalpel wound to the side of her stomach that looked like zombie Dotkins had been trying to cut the brunette open.

It wasn’t bleeding profusely thank goodness. The minor wound was about a little more than half an inch in length. Hmm, probably she’d just need stitches, but he needed to take care of it before disposing of the nurse.

Because seriously, after all the crap he’d seen growing up and working at the GCPD and now Arkham, he was pretty sure there wasn’t going to be any chance of saving the homicidal nurse now that she was infected with… whatever the hell was in the brunettes blood.

Wasn’t like he was too fond of Dotkins anyway after he caught her stealing the freakin’ cookies off the patients trays (What the fuck even?!). Though he had a feeling that wasn’t the only thing she liked to pilfer, and had chased her off more than once from skulking around the rooms of “regular” patients in the topside facility. Seriously, he couldn’t help noticing how the staff could sometimes be worse than the inmates they treated.

When Alister carefully lifted up the black and white stripped asylum uniform far enough up her stomach to see the injury, he noticed in slight shock that there were a few other scars there as well.

They didn’t look very old, maybe a couple months at best. He had no doubt she probably got them from one of the staff, as Nurse Wright had seen a few of his other patients get.

He heard a small, strangled sort of sob from the girl and met her eyes in time to more feel than see a mixture of shame, alarm and self-loathing settling across her features that just didn’t set right with him as he tried to ignore the unsettling emotions that were rolling off the poor kid.

Alister gave her a light pat on the head. “I won’t ask. But whatever it is, it’s _not_ your fault.” The empathic silveret reassured, as he felt that was the right thing to say. She looked taken aback by that, and he could tell she was feeling a little doubtful, but after a moment gave a nod.

“Okay. Hold still. I need to take care of that.” He ordered as he went and grabbed a pair of gloves. After gathering what he needed and the gloves were securely on his hands, he cleaned and stitched up the wound; taking extra care not to get any of her blood on him. Who knew if his abilities could save him from whatever nightmarish virus the poor lass was infected with?

“There. All better.” Alis declared sweetly when the work was done as he offered a smile to match. But she was staring sadly at the unconscious nurse, whose head was lightly bleeding.

He took a moment to actually survey the scene in the hopes of figuring out what happened and frowned. “She should’ve been wearing gloves.” Nurse Wright abruptly stated in a disapproving tone; causing the girl to turn and gawk at him dumbfounded. “How…?”

“Because she’s _not_. There’s blood on her right pointer and middle finger and there are empty blood vials on the floor, along with everything one would need to draw blood, soooooo I’m _guessin’_ she wasn’t here to braid your hair, right?” Alis asked; his casual tone holding an air of calculation to it as he deduced the obvious.

Alright, so _maybe_ apart from helping people, another big reason Alister ended up working for the GCPD and then as a nurse was partly because he really liked solving problems and making deductions like some kinda scrub wearing detective. (Don’t judge! They’re more comfortable than tights or spandex okay?)

Studying the case files he had to archive in order to better sort them (or so he reasoned) did a lot to help his skills, but it wasn’t like anyone listened to him when he tried to dispute that they’d gotten it wrong on the occasion they did.

But once it was obvious someone had been paid to have it that way, he shut his mouth; knowing better than to keep going since he was in no position to do anything. And yet another reason he liked working at the asylum better. At least he was kindly given the _delusion_ of having a valuable opinion. And _yes_ , he knew better than to trust a guy like Hugo Strange. Which is why he didn’t.

He was a little glad to see she did manage to look impressed, so he smiled some and gave her another consoling pat on the head. “You stay here and rest while I clean this up.” Alis told her gently. Then he made quirk work of clearing up the mess of medical items that had fallen off the tray and removing the table it was wheeled in on.

* * *

_**~To be continued...~**  _


	2. It's My Own Invention

 

_**"Forgive me for the evil I have done you; my mother drove me to it; it was done against my will." ~Donkey Cabbages.** _

* * *

Once he was sure there wasn’t anything left in the room for the kid to use to hurt herself (just in case) or blood, Alister changed into a new pair of gloves, took off his scrubs top and wrapped it around the nurses head and wiped off her fingertips and shoved the cotton swabs into her pocket.

Then he drug her out of the room; his precautions keeping her from getting the girls blood or her own anywhere as he hauled her down to Firefly’s room. The pyro teen, who had come to realize she had a love of fire and now thought she was a fire Goddess receiving a sacrifice, was more than happy to torch the body for the nice nurse. With a bow, he thanked her and left her to it.

When Alister fetched a new shirt in what he hoped was the young woman’s size, as well as a chocolate bar (because the sugar and chemicals naturally found in it like phenethylamine tended to help mellow out people in shock he found) and went back to check on the brunette, he found her still on the floor, but now hugging her knees to her chest.

The compassionate nurse gave her the new shirt and candy, and told her he’d leave her alone and that he’d be back to check on her later so she could get some rest. She gave a tentative nod, but he could tell she felt grateful, and he went back to attending to his tasks.

A few hours later, he came back to check the wound and change the bandage. The brunette was so very taken aback by the care and gentleness she received, as well as the respect of her privacy with the way he never so much as tried to pry about her scars.

Nor did he try to manipulate, molest, rape or hurt her in any way, shape or form. And this… Well this baffled the poor, abused young woman. In fact, apart from his odd habit of humming some sort of song or speaking strange things he later explained were quotes from various stories, songs, and other things he enjoyed, Nurse Wright seemed like a really nice and kindhearted person.

After years of Jervis having kept her locked away as a prisoner in the place that she believed had once been her home and his psychotic belief that they were soul mates meant to be together forever, Alice had steadily felt as if she had been descending into madness.

Every day she could almost feel her fragile psyche fracturing little by little, until she just hadn’t been able to take it anymore. She had all sorts of horrible nightmares. They felt so frighteningly real. More like memories than bad dreams.

They consisted of being locked up in a padded room of some sort of psychiatric hospital, being held down and strapped to a hospital bed while a doctor and a few nurses and orderlies tried to hold her down to inject her with Lord knows what, and all manner of horrid images.

And between each flash of images and nightmares, there was always the blurry image of Jervis’ pocket watch. Alice wasn’t sure why she had them. She couldn’t recall ever having been in any other mental facility other than Indian Hill.

Alice had always tried to keep herself sane by telling herself over and over that once her eighteenth birthday had come and she got her soul mark that whatever was written there wouldn’t be in Jervis’ handwriting, that no mystical soul mate bond would form between them and then, THEN Jervis would have no choice but to see reason.

To see that they were not and NEVER would be soul mates, and that he should just leave her the hell alone. But the day came, he’d thrown her some sickeningly lavish birthday banquet that reflected that twisted childish personality of his with all the little cakes, tea setting, pastel floral patterns and finger sandwiches.

The party wouldn’t start until the mark appeared, and Alice had been keeping a watchful eye on it in the hopes of proving him wrong. She knew her brothers penmanship like she knew her own with the way he had always loved to write Alice’s name over and over again over her heart where you were supposed to get it, just so he could pretend that she had his soul mark on her.

Alice had once asked to see his soul mark, in an attempt to prove that it wasn’t in her scrawl, but he’d gotten very upset. Apparently Jervis didn’t have one. Or at least not yet, and it upset him because he couldn’t understand why. Either that or he just didn’t want to think about it.

But it wasn’t _exactly_ uncommon. Sometimes you didn’t get one until a little later in your life. Still… she supposed she could understand why it might worry someone to the brink of insanity, seeing as there were the incredibly rare cases where you didn’t get a mark at all.

And so you’d either had to find yourself a partner (who’d probably leave you for their soul mate sooner or later) or just die alone. But oddly it wasn’t because you didn’t have a soul mate. It might’ve simply been a cosmic mistake where you were both born at the wrong time or one of you died. There were a number of reasons for it.

So when the time came, and her mark appeared, Alice knew it had. It wasn’t exactly something you could ignore. As it materialized, it felt as if it was searing not only into your skin, but your very soul.

Every fiber of her being burned and buzzed for a few minutes, until it slowly ebbed and left her with the name “ _Alia_ ” in black handwriting that was sort of sloppy. So very unlike the elegant and neat style her brother used; even on his laziest day of doodling her name. Nor, had Jervis _EVER_ called her Alia. And yet… the name sounded so familiar to her somehow…

 _‘Finally! Proof!’_ She’d thought as Alice admired the evidence that would finally set her free. Proof that they weren’t soul mates like he’d always blathered on about! HAH! In fact, she’d been so relieved that she had actually found a small “Hah!” escape her lips before her mistake dawned on her.

Uh oh… She’d never seen Jervis so furious! The angry auburnet ended up yelling and screaming how unfair it was and how it must be a mistake, whilst destroying everything he could in the room in an enraged rampage; little cakes and pretty floral patterned tea cups flying everywhere in the process.

The room ended up such a mess, and poor Alice had been worried that she was next. She had been right of course, but mostly all he did was shake her angrily by her shoulders and demand to know why she continued to deny him what was his.

As if the sole reason no connection formed between them to bind their souls together as one for the rest of their lives and possibly beyond was all her fault. That it was all because she was being _stubborn_.

And as he shook her like a rag doll and raged, something inside Alice just… _snapped_! The next thing she knew, her hand found a tipped over tea pot that had managed to still be in one piece, and knocked him upside his stupid screaming face with it.

Alice had stood there for what felt like forever, but it was only a few seconds, lightheaded and shocked at her own moment of violence as she gawked down at the unconscious form of her older brother; the side of his forehead bleeding slightly; wondering how she could’ve done such a thing.

But then it dawned on her that… she was _free_! She stumbled a bit in her rush to remove the keys from one of the many pockets of his jacket and hightailed it out of there like Death himself was hot on her heels. Though if Jervis had been conscious to chase her, it might as well have been the case.

But Nurse Wright was bewilderingly different. He just tended to her and would sometimes speak kindly to her about how much better the wound looked or the weather outside; a subject which she never thought she’d be so happy to hear about since they couldn’t see anything from the underground facility.

By the third day of this, she surprised both Alister and herself when she loudly blurted “Alice!” as he was turning to leave. He paused and turned back around to eye her curiously; his head cocked slightly to the side as he waited patiently to see if she had something else to say.

“Th-that… That’s my name. Alice.” She edified in a quieter tone; blushing madly as she averted her eyes. But she peered back up when she felt a hand on her head and she felt the heat in her face worsen at the warm, friendly smile he rewarded her with. “I know, Ms. Tetch.” Alister said a tad in amusement.

When she blinked and looked shocked, he used the hand on her head to give it a little pat; like an older brother would to their little sibling for saying something funny or cute. “It’s on your chart, silly.” He enlightened, and she couldn’t help the small, sheepish smile that spread across her very red face. “Oh.” She muttered; feeling oh so very embarrassed and childish.

Alister chuckled airily and removed his hand. “Ah, no worries. But I’m glad you decided to tell me in your own time. That’s what’s important. But y‘know… it’s kinda cool we have kind of the same name.” Alis assured her before musing more to himself in that strange friendly way, that poor Alice just wasn’t used to. Nor the warm, safe feeling that made her heart swell and the tension in her to be gradually soothed away.

She gave a small, slow nod; unsure if she agreed or not, but really more taken aback by the gentle and almost brotherly way she was treated. The right, non-rape-y sort of brotherly mind you. The kind that made you feel _safe_ and _protected_ , not hurt and horrified.

And so when she saw Alister’s smile turn into an alarmed frown of concern, she didn’t understand why. “Uh, Ms. Tetch.” When she didn’t answer right away; being too caught up in her thoughts for a moment, he tried again.

“Alice, you okay?” He asked gently; as if too loud or sharp a tone might break her. “You’re um…” He gestured to her cheek and she realized when she touched it and felt something wet that she was crying.

“Fine.” She answered meekly; though felt about as uncertain as Nurse Wright looked. His frown deepened and he apologized that he couldn’t stay, as he had to do his rounds and attend to other patients, but told her he would be back later after her session with Dr. Strange.

Alice nodded and tried to give him a small smile as she said she was fine and that it wasn’t necessary. He left and the poor, confused young woman sighed as she reached up to dry her face with the end of her sleeve; lying back on the cot that was her bed and wondering what had come over her

* * *

_**~To be continued...~** _


	3. The Mad Queen’s Croquet-Ground

           ** _"I have seen many strange things, but such a monster as this I never saw."_ _~The Turnip._ **

* * *

The days passed, but as usual, Nurse Wright didn’t pry into her business and she was glad for it. After all, Alice had no idea why she had been crying anyway. Even if after all she had been through, Alice didn’t exactly think she needed an excuse.

And as the days turned into weeks and then months, Alice found herself growing _quite_ fond of Alister and was even talking to him a lot more than she had. However, unbeknownst to him, it was because she was falling head over heels for her handsome protector.

The halfling found that she was usually pretty happy to see him, as the solitude of the cells tended to get to Alice after a while, and having company like the kindly nurses eased away the cold and loneliness with warmth and friendliness. Alice found her heartbeat would speed up and her stomach felt like it was performing back flips whenever she saw him coming toward her cell.

Alice had taken to passing some of her time by reading books that he brought her and the other inmates who liked reading, but tended to end up daydreaming about the charming caretaker and about all sorts of romantic fantasies between the two of them, and if his soul mark was written in her hand…

When she wasn’t doing that, Alice tried to peek out the porthole of her door to try and watch Alister go about his work up and down the halls with the other patients. Alice had been pretty stunned to learn that someone as strong and wonderful as Alister was actually into men when he’d confided in her about it one day.

But Alice just couldn’t see it. It didn’t make sense to her for a guy like him to be gay. Probably because she’d grown up without any education or understanding of the outside world due to her seclusion from it, and thus had it in her mind that perhaps he just hadn’t met the right woman.

Either that, or maybe he was just confused and needed someone (like her) to help him realize how silly such a notion was. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman tried to make a gay guy straight or a man tried to make a lesbian woman straight, and unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t be the last, what with certain people just being too dumb and/or crazy to get that people had a choice in their own sexuality and didn’t need anyone trying to recruit them to their way of thinking.

On the very rare occasion that Nurse Wright ended up in her room with his scrubs top or pants singed, torn or ripped by some sort of claws or jaws, or that one time more recently after a new patient arrived (whom Alis called Dr. Fries, with far too much fondness in his voice for Alice’s liking) when it had been covered in frost for some bizarre reason, Alice tended to find herself on her feet and rushing over to make sure he was okay.

Although he mistook her fussing and fretting for that of a worried friend or possibly even sisterly concern, Alister had no idea that the affection he was being shown was anything to worry about, as he tried to not to use his empathy unless he felt he had to. Like when he began to notice her “affections” were starting to get out of hand.

Alister started to notice the shift in her attitude when he’d told her he was gay. Of course he had told her this in the hopes she wouldn’t worry about him ever laying a hand on her, and Alis certainly had no intention, nor saw her as anything beyond a patient in need of recovery. Perhaps a friend at most, or on occasion was reminded of his own sister.

The clever silvery blond had felt the need to reassure her when he started to deduce some form of familial abuse with the way Alice always looked pained and upset whenever he brought up the word “family” or talked about his, which he’d stopped doing or how during one of her nightmares she’d whimper “No brother! Please!”.

Though he’d told Dr. Strange about this, he was advised not to let Alice know he was aware of it. Nurse Wright wished his boss wouldn’t keep the mental states of his patients from the halfling, as it made his job a lot more difficult.

But unlike the Arkham patients above, Hugo held the confidentiality of his “children” a bit more close to the chest, as he didn’t feel his staff should know too much. And Alister knew that was because to an extent, they were all essentially expendable. So the less they knew, the better.

Alice had started becoming increasingly more clingy. And whenever he tried to talk about his day and he mentioned certain people (either male or female) with what she’d mistaken for any level of fondness, Alice would get sort of huffy and pout or try to change the subject.

Alister was starting to wonder if she had some sort of mood disorder like being bipolar. Not that he would be allowed to know unless he found a way to find, steal and then read her file. An idea which was becoming increasingly more tempting as these antics went on.

Hugo, having known about Alice’s past with her older brother Jervis (who was still calling _incessantly_ , mind you) as well as her life before that, thought the idea of her finding an attachment to a new brother figure was quite intriguing with all the ways it could play out, and decided to let it.

The bespectacled baldy hadn’t exactly been all that surprised by the way Alice took to the nimble minded nurse. The fellow had a certain _charm_ to him, even Strange knew that from the way a few of the patients and staff members behaved toward him. But the way in which Alice became attached to Alister was another thing entirely.

Alice had gone from being a quiet and occasionally sobbing mess who’d given up on pleading to be set free after her first three months in captivity, and then to a sulking lump in the corner having nightmares about her brother, to waking up about a half hour before Nurse Wright was to arrive to start his daily routine as she eagerly waited and peered out the small circular window of her room; excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

How, after about five times when Alister had caught her asleep screaming from some horrible nightmarish memory of her brother or other bad dreams she didn’t want to discuss, as she had been suffering from them more often, the nurse had woken her up and held the poor woman.

Rocking her gently back and forth as he shushed and spoke quietly and soothingly to her that everything was all right just like a proper big brother should. Alice whimpered and clung more tightly to him; her fingers curling into his scrubs top like they were a life preserver as her infatuation with Alister continued to deepen.

But it wasn’t like he wasn’t this attentive to his other patients. He’d sat with Firefly whenever she had a nightmare about men whose names she couldn’t recall who had hurt her, or just sometimes when she’d get upset and literally go into fiery rage at the fact that she couldn’t remember who she was.

Or calmed down Five when someone upset him. Hell, even Dr. Fries sometimes needed his help with one of his experiments, but Alister couldn’t help wondering if that was just an excuse to have some company with someone who wasn’t afraid of him. But somehow Alice had gotten the crazy idea that she was somehow “special”.

Alice had gotten bolder in her desire to spend more time with him, and decided to try and use a few tricks she’d developed when she either really needed to get Jervis away from her for a while or wanted to get something in her attempts to escape, to the extent that she had taken to asking Alis if they could have lunch together.

At first Nurse Wright seemed uncertain, but when Alice flashed him a pleading pair of big brown puppy dog eyes and asked again with all the sweetness she could muster, he relented with a small laugh as he figured there was no harm in spending a little more time with a patient who was obviously desperate for a friend.

Hugo had been shocked at the young woman’s manipulation. A small and seemingly innocent one to be sure, but the doctor knew better than anyone that even something that disguised itself as sweet and innocent could quickly turn dark and deadly.

He had wondered if Jervis’ sort of madness ran in the family, and if Alice might be afflicted by it, what with the way she’d taken to trying to spend as much time with the kindhearted nurse Wright as he and his work would permit.

But in his investigating, he had discovered so much more than he’d expected about the young woman’s mental state and felt he needed to keep a closer eye on her. Hugo observed her steady increase of subtle manipulations of the silvery blonds kindness and sense of responsibility for her wellbeing to get her way.

Like getting Nurse Wright to have lunch with her some more, talk to her a bit longer than he should since he had work to do, would pretend she’d been crying or had a bad dream when he came in so he would hug her and dote on her for a while, as he tended to do with certain patients.

And essentially whatever the steadily sneaky young woman could do to get more time with him, more of that _rich_ , silky baritone voice that _soothed_ her soul and made her heartbeat race.

More excuses for physical contact, so she could feel that slim, chiseled chest through the thin scrubs and shirt he had underneath, and be held in those strong, capable arms that would _never_ EVER let that monster, Jervis, touch her again.

She needed the warmth of his body against hers that she was so desperately starting to crave more and more each day. The sweet smiles he had to offer that brightened her crushed spirit, the endearing pats on her head that made her blush and feel all warm and _tingly_ now, and the way he said her name. How, in her mind, it sounded so _fond_ and right on his lips after all the years hearing it from Jervis’ had made her feel sick to even hear it from anyone else’s.

Alice knew she shouldn’t lie or pretend she’d been crying or had a nightmare, or not feeling well, or any of the naughty things she did just to keep Alister around a little longer. But she couldn’t help it you see. It was like some kind of _sick_ compulsion.

There was a _darkness_ Alice never realized was there, or perhaps had simply been quiet for a while, clawing at her insides, as it scaled its way up and began to consume her; mind and soul.

Telling her she _deserved_ to be loved, that she and Alister just had to be soul mates. The way they had fallen into each others lives just seemed undeniably like fate itself! Told her she could do so much better than Jervis.

That it didn’t matter if Alister was gay if she could find a way to win his heart and be there for him. That was all he really needed after all. She had grown incredibly sure of this.

Surly when you loved someone enough, and you could prove you were meant to be, gender didn’t matter, right? That’s what that dark little demon in her brain told her anyway; that darker version of herself that whispered oh so sweetly in her ear.

The same one, she now recalled, that had always assured her that Jervis would let her go once he saw they weren’t soul mates. It had been much smaller then. But now it held an unwavering confidence and made arguments that Alice felt were far more compelling.

And while she’d been doubtful at first, her confidence in that they were destined to be together and that she could convince him he didn’t need anyone else grew and grew the more she found she could get him to do what she wanted.

* * *

_**~To be continued...~** _


	4. Looking-Glass House

   ** _"Trust me. I know a thing or two about liking people, and in time, after much chocolate and cake, 'like' turns into 'what was his name again?" ~Syfy Alice._ **

* * *

Since they’d first met, almost a year had passed, but the more Alister tried to chalk up the brunette woman’s weird behavior to that of a sad patient just being really lonely and possibly being mentally unstable, the more his common sense told him to wake up and see that Alice was trying to flirt with him and manipulate him to some sort of purpose that he was certain of which he wouldn’t approve.

But hey, just because he was a nice guy, didn’t mean he was freakin’ stupid or gullible. He just liked giving people a chance. At first, Alis had tried to give the damaged and abused brunette the benefit of the doubt, and figured maybe he was over thinking things.

After all, he was pretty much the only person she got to see day in and day out for all those months, so yeah maybe she was a bit more attached to him than she _should_ be, but that didn’t mean she was trying to get into his pants. Or, at least, he hoped that’s not what it meant.

Alister had been flirted with before by other people, so he knew what it was when he heard it or saw it. Alice, if she _was_ flirting, she was very bad at it. And he wondered if maybe she just didn’t know how to act around other people or show affection after years of abuse (or so he suspected).

He’d even asked her if she was flirting, and she got all embarrassed and told him she wasn’t. She had seemed frantic in her apology as if afraid she’d offended him and would scare him off. It had really touched him when, later on, she asked if she could call him brother, and he got the feeling it really mattered to her.

However, Nurse Wright just didn’t feel it was right and expressed this to Alice. Though he did leave out the part where a part of him thought it was kinda creepy and a bit too far for a nurse and a patient to go.

And well, she hadn’t handled it well and got all upset and claimed she was tired and wanted to get some sleep and that Nurse Wright should leave. Which he was happy to do if she was going to be a brat about it.

Buuuuuuut, that’s kinnnnnda when things got _weird_ … Like, weird for Arkham. Which was saying _a lot_ since one of his weekly tasks now was to bring Dr. Fries (whom he thought was oddly hot for a guy with icy abilities) a new cassette tape of jams to listen to, and hope the man didn’t dislike them and turn him into a nurse-cicle, as that would just be uncomfortable and inconvenient.

Whenever he’d go to leave, Alice had taken to trying to hug him. She had even managed to once; hanging onto him with some kind of freaky koala death grip that reminded him a bit of one of his overly clingy ex-boyfriends from high school than that of a friendly patient, friend or sister. And he reeeeally hoped she wouldn’t try to rub up against him like they’d tried. He was pretty sure he’d feel bad about punching her; even if it was just out of reflex.

Alister had tried to pull away or end the hug quicker, but she pouted and got upset and asked if he didn’t want her as a friend anymore, and he’d had to relent and let her hug him some more, while poor Alis had internally screamed and slapped himself for being such a pushover.

Then came the quick and timid little peck on the cheek she’d snuck passed his defenses while in the guise of asking him about something she had been reading. Which ironically was the “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” book Hugo had advised Alis to give her.

When he asked her about that she surprised him by saying that she always used to give her big brother kisses. Even if Alice left out the part about her believing she had been forced to do it under hypnosis.

Nurse Wright had mostly taken aback because it had been the first time Alice had ever mentioned her brother or any of her family before, but mostly by the foreboding underlying tone she had when she said it; like there was something _more_ to these “brotherly kisses” than she was letting on.

Something messed up and disturbing that… Alister was pretty sure he wouldn’t like. And so he had made sure to keep his distance from her after that and had chided Alice by telling her not to do that any more.

While they were having lunch once, he felt her staring at him, as she had taken to doing more and more regularly, and finally gotten fed up and asked why. Alice looked rather distraught for a moment, and told him that she had the feeling her brother would like Alister.

“You’re just so _kind,_ and sweet… and _everything_ he’s not… Like one of those scary movies where you look into a mirror and then your reflection turns all dark and evil, and comes after you.” Alice explained with an expression that Alister couldn’t help feeling looked more jealous than worried.

“What… Like he’s my looking-glass reflection?” The silveret inquired with a skeptically raised eyebrow; wondering if perhaps he’d read her too many of his favorite stories as she gave a vigorous nod.

“People like _you_ attract monsters like _him_.” She said in a hushed tone more to herself than Alister, before adding in a pouting whisper “… I hope he _never_ finds us!” Which left the nurse no longer feeling hungry and like he needed to get the hell out of there and take an acid show with a wire brush at how grossed out it made him feel.

As he hurried to leave, poor Alister found himself murmuring under his breath “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that _bite_ , the claws that _catch_! Beware the Jubjub bird, and _shun_ The frumious Bandersnatch!”

Alice tried to hide the involuntary wince at hearing any sort of rhyming; having learned to detest it to great lengths as Jervis had such a penchant for it, and often did it increasingly the more upset he’d become.

Even so, she tried not to mention it to Alister, as it just seemed like a can of worms she herself didn’t wish to open. She felt the less he knew about her past, the better off both might be. She wanted his love, not his pity.

Then there was just the flat out creepy way she practically purred the word “brother” when she called him that. Even after Alister had continued to express his dislike for it. It made him feel the urge to throw up frankly, and he began trying to distance himself more by spending a little less time in her presence.

He hoped maybe giving them some time apart would be good for Alice and give her some time to settle down or whatever the heck it was she needed to do. However, it seemed to have the opposite effect, and just pissed her off.

She cried and yelled at him, accusing the halfling of not caring about her anymore, and that Alister hadn’t truly been her friend, and yeah. A lot of hysterical melodrama basically. And you know, Alis had no freakin’ idea where it was coming from or why. Hugo Strange on the other hand, did, the secretive bastard.

Alice had “kicked’ him out of her cell and told him she didn’t want to see him anymore, which he was pretty okay with after the increasingly disturbing behavior, violation of his personal space despite his protests and efforts to deter them, and finally that offensive tantrum, as it had upset him that she could say such hurtful things when it was obvious that he cared. Or at least as much as a nurse like him could and should.

Though he was starting to feel like maybe she assumed he cared about her in a whole _other_ way that just wasn’t feasible for a guy loving fella like himself. He gave her a few days to cool off; only ever coming by when it was to put the food tray through the meal slot or retrieve it.

He’d tried peeking inside to see if she was okay, but stopped when she glared daggers at him; her eyes all red and puffy from so much crying. But he guessed that’s what happens when you try to befriend a possibly psychotic, hormonal, emotional and mentally immature woman a few years younger than he was, with a mysterious abusive past. Either that or he just had bad luck with certain people.

The dedicated nurse heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head as he poked at his lunch. He knew Alice had a very childlike mindset and hadn’t really gotten the chance to grow up because of whatever her family had done to her, but he’d had no idea how _bad_ it was until her outburst.

Meanwhile, Alice was suffering through a torrent of emotions, hormones and psychotic issues as she tried to stay angry at the kindly nurse. But in the end, she found she couldn’t and wound up being angry at herself for overreacting and not being more mature about the situation.

After all, she was trying to win the heart of an older man (although not really that much older), so she probably shouldn’t behave like a petulant child. But even so, Alice really needed to figure out how to apologize and show him she meant well. If they could only shake hands! Then he’d see her intentions had been pure and forgive her.

The next day she’d waited impatiently for the breakfast tray to be delivered and popped up at the round window to see Alister looking a little tired, but he was more a night person than an afternoon one she’d learned.

“Hey…” She greeted shyly. Alis quirked an eyebrow but otherwise kept a flat expression. Alice went into a whole apology about how she didn’t know what had come over her and blah blah blah, because Alister ended up tuning her out since he neither felt any genuine sincerity with his empathy nor saw it in the way she was behaving.

Seeing her practiced blushing and shy apology wasn’t having any effect on him, she decided to try tearful, and although it still didn’t really feel like she hadn’t meant to snap at him, he figured it’d be heartless to not forgive her and did so with a sour taste in his mouth.

If only to shut her up and make his daily task of having to deal with her somewhat tolerable. Though he had blatantly and very bluntly denied her request to see his soul mark and then for him to come into the cell so she could show him hers. What kind of idiot did she take him for?

* * *

_**~To be continued...~**_


	5. Alis’ Evidence

**_"There she paused for a while thinking... but the temptation was so great that she could not conquer it." ~Bluebeard._ **

* * *

After that, things gradually returned to what passed for normal, and Alice was trying harder to be more mature to avoid anymore problems. Alister didn’t have the best confidence about it, but kept his mouth shut to avoid an argument as he remembered he WAS in an asylum for the criminally insane with an underground experiment facility.

Alice had been trying to be careful and take things slow with Alister though (in her head) because she didn’t know what would happen if she kissed him on the lips. What if her saliva had a similar effect as her blood? Oh no! What if she accidentally ended up infecting her soul mate?

Until Alister, she had never really considered it. Never had to. Jervis was immune to her. But if they were going to be together in any way, she needed to be sure. Needed to figure out some way to test it…

Having seen Alister get hurt a few times throughout the time they’d known each other, she had learned that he had special powers too; that he could heal pretty quick. And this got her wondering if he’d be immune to her toxic blood or not.

If he was, like Jervis, then that meant she could touch him and do things with Nurse Wright that she couldn’t do with anyone else. And certainly hadn’t wanted to do with her pathetic, clingy, twisted older brother. Not like she was one to talk though. But it wasn’t like Alice made that connection yet.

So she’d taken to trying to figure out how to test this. He wouldn’t let her hug him, so kissing _definitely_ was out. And Alister went out of his way to keep a decent distance between them now. It made her whine in protest and her heart to ache, but he would just ignore her and pretend not to notice her childish lovelorn suffering.

But she _needed_ to know! Her frustration with being ignored and denied finally became too much, and when he went to leave, Alice had wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked him down at a painful angle into a kiss as she stood on her tiptoes.

Alister had been busy unlocking the door from the panel inside, when he had been caught off guard when the little psycho decided to try and mouth rape him. No sooner had it happened, was Alister shoving her off like he’d been burned.

She lost her balance and fell flat on her butt; staring up at him with an expression of hurt and confusion as she thought it had felt good. “No, Alice! _No_!” Alister found himself scolding harshly as he pointed an accusing finger at her; as if he were telling off a bad puppy.

“But Alister!” She squeaked indignantly as she stood up. But Alis was already hauling ass out of the cell and closing it as quickly as it would allow. “Hold your tongue!” He shouted as his eyes literally flashed a dangerous glow of violet; a look of blatant pain and betrayal betraying his voice and usually kind features, making them hard and cold that made Alice gasp in shock.

“You _know_ I’m GAY, as in, me love men loooong time, okay? NOT girls! And I sure as hell ain’t gonna kiss one that’s one of my patients! Geez!” Alis told her sternly through the window.

He couldn’t believe how hurtful and thoughtless Alice was being. Like she didn’t even care or respect that it was his choice to be who he was and was just going to do whatever the hell she wanted.

Alice tried to argue, but Alister didn’t want to hear it; feeling a headache coming on as the nausea he felt seemed to be getting worse. “Listen, I was fine with us being friends. _Really_. But that’s _it_. How many times do I have to tell you? No more “brother” crap, no more hugs and cheek kisses. _All_ physical contact, unless I’m treating you medically, is now _cut off_. This is bullshit, girl! You KNOW I don’t roll that way!”

Alister felt hurt and violated and just wanted to go wash his mouth off and forget the day had happened; maybe lose himself in good song or book or smutty yaoi manga just for spite.

“But… I-I _love_ you.” Alice sobbed dejectedly; tears streaming down her face. And while it did make him feel sad, he wasn’t falling for it. “If you _really_ did, you wouldn’t have tried this.” He told her; firmly standing his ground.

“It’s not like we’re even soul mates.” The fed up Eldritch halfling tried to point out as if it were a fact everyone knew or should know. “And how would you know that?” Alice venomously spat back through the tears that were running down her face.

Nurse Wright rolled his eyes. “Fine! You wanna see?” He pulled out a pen from his pocket and grabbed the chart that hung there which held Alice’s basic information like her name and the toxic blood thing from outside the cell and handed it to her through the food slot. “Go ahead. Write my name down and we’ll see.”

Alice froze, feeling a little hesitant and anxious at the level of confidence the other had. Had she been wrong? She wondered for a second, but then that dark little Alice in her head assured her that there was no doubting it, and that once she showed Alister her writing and compared it to the mark, they could finally settle the matter and make up properly.

Her face became set with a determined frown as she took the offered items and wrote down her name on the folder before handing it back to him. He then wrote Alice’s name on the back of it, and while she had caught a glimpse of it, Alice sadly knew it didn’t match the writing on her own mark. But… maybe she just hadn’t seen it closely enough. Maybe Alister’s mark could prove otherwise?

Nurse Wright looked down at Alice’s writing and examined it. It was bubbly and girly, but it wasn’t the nicest he’d seen. Nor anything like the writing on his chest, and so with a relieved little smirk, he pulled up his shirt and scrubs top to show Alice and hopefully shut her up once and for all.

But her reaction hadn’t been what he’d expected; not that he really knew what to expect from her nowadays anyway. When Alice saw the name “ _Alis_ ” written over the nimble nurses heart in blood red, as if it had been _oh so lovingly_ and elegantly _carved_ into the smooth bit of muscled flesh.

Oh God… No… No! Alice _knew_ that writing… Recognized every graceful curl better than she did her own face. Had tried to scrub or even scratch it off over and over until the skin turned red or bled. Internally screamed while she lay in a hypnotized state as it was drawn onto her chest for all those nightmarish years.

She wondered how fate could be so cruel as she began to slowly back away; not even noticing that she was talking quietly to herself, as the desire to suddenly be as far away from Nurse Wright and this hellish asylum as physically possibly began to overwhelm her and her already damaged psyche.

Her big brown eyes widened in horror as more tears flowed forth and a sense of dread and fear radiated off her so strongly that the halfling could feel it even when he’d had his empathy powers shut down. Alister shuddered at the way her emotions were making him feel as if he needed to run and hide and _never_ come out again.

He tried to shake it off and focus; trying to make out what she was mumbling to herself from behind the hands that now covered her mouth, as if she were about to start screaming any second. But all he could make out was muffled “No’s”, the word “Monster” and something about how it all must be a mistake.

“Well? Is that evidence enough for you, Alice? Or did you want me to see yours?” Alister asked, perhaps a tad too harshly and coldly than he’d intended, but he was still too upset to really care. Alice had crossed the line for the very last time. He’d given her enough chances.

Though, in the state of mental meltdown she was in, the young woman didn’t even notice. She just kept muttering nonsense he couldn’t make out. And dear lord, when he went to open the door of the cell up to try and take a step toward her and ask if she was all right, poor Alister ended up on the end of an earsplitting scream!

Alice just started freaking out and trying to attack him in a hysterical fit of rage and repulsion; her hands batting and attempting to claw at him with her fingernails as she shrieked and screamed bloody murder for him to get away.

Not like he needed an excuse to get away from her anyway, but getting assaulted was as good as any. So after knocking her down so he could get away, he closed up the cell as fast as the door would go and made sure it was locked securely; the sound of her alternating screams and sobs thankfully muffled by the thick door.

Alis sighed exasperatedly, shook his head and turned on his heel to go attend to his other tasks for the day; absentmindedly reaching up and scrubbing at his mouth with the sleeve of his white long sleeve shirt that he wore under his scrubs as if he’d just been licked by a rabies infected cockroach and made a disgusted face.

But then froze when he saw the small smear of red against the white of the shirt he had worn that day. Alis ran to the nearest bathroom and took to trying to wash off any more blood that might have been on his face; cursing that sneaky little whackjob for having tried to infect him, whom he now knew better than to consider a friend.

Yep, she was back on the “unfriendly nut job” list. _‘She'll sting you one day. Oh, ever so gently, so you hardly even feel it. 'Til you fall **dead**.’_ Alis mentally groused as he scrubbed his face until it was a dark shade of pink that was almost as angry as his thoughts.

The compassionate Cambion wondered if that was why he felt like he was going to be sick, if it was just the residual effects of whatever emotions Alice had bombarded him with, or if maybe Alister was just disgusted with the way his patient-nurse relationship had turned out so horribly?

With another sigh, this one heavier than the last as he felt a headache coming on, Alis went to lay down in an empty patient room some of the other staff crashed in sometimes; getting up occasionally to check his face in the bathroom mirror for signs that his healing abilities were losing to the infection or if it had even bothered him at all.

But even the next day, and the week after that, it didn’t seem to bother him, and he just assumed that maybe his supernatural abilities had thwarted yet another virus or that maybe it just didn’t effect people like him.

Just in case though, but mostly because he just needed a damn break, Alis took a couple of days off to rest, recover and keep an eye on his face for signs of black veins, bluish skin and freaky red and blue eyes.

He actually talked a fellow nurse into passing out Alice’s food trays to her just so he wouldn’t have to deal with her for a while. Hugo had noticed how Nurse Wright and Alice were avoiding each other, and after watching the footage he had an idea of what had transpired, did he understand why. Though he did wonder if Ms. Tetch’s blood would have any effect on the strange nurse.

Hugo made sure they had a session after that. However, Ms. Tetch had fallen into such a hysterical and maddened state that she required heavy sedation and had to be restrained to the cot in her cell after her new nurse had found Alice trying to use her nails to claw at her wrists.

The new nurse, named Peters, had reported to Hugo that the woman kept muttering something about how there was no hope and how she was surrounded by monsters or some such trifle Nurse Peters had told him.

It seemed that even one as caring as Nurse Wright had limits as to how much abuse and betrayal they could take, as he had gone to Dr. Strange and requested he no longer be involved in any way with Ms. Tetch’s treatment, as he believed it would only worsen her condition.

Hugo had allowed it, though he acted as if he had no idea why. Though the bespectacled baldy had been surprised by the young mans pause upon leaving, before Alister turned back to him and offered one last bit of compassion toward Alice by expressing that he hoped Hugo could help her, because no one deserved what was going on with her.

* * *

_**~To be continued...~** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope people like the little quotes I have up here. X3 I'm a big fan of the show "Grimm" and between them and my own books and some other Alice related stuff, I ended up with lots of fun ones to use. Als


	6. The Pool of Tears

    _ **"Then she began to weep bitterly, and said 'What can a poor girl like me do now?'" ~The Old Woman in the Wood.** _

* * *

Not long after that, after she had been kept in the infirmary under supervision due to her injuries, Alice awoke back in her room from her forced naptime to find that it hadn’t all just been one bad nightmare.

And that, instead of having been allowed to bleed out and be free, she was strapped down to her cot, and the cuts she had made on her wrists were now bandaged and covered securely. Alice freaked and started pulling on her bonds, but they wouldn’t give.

“Finally awake, I see, _Alice_.” The deep and familiar voice of Hugo Strange caused her eyes to open wide in panic as she began to pull more frantically, like that would somehow help, which it didn’t. “No… No!! Let me go! I have to get out of here! _Please_!”

When she received no answer except the doctors ever smiling face, her own paled. “Why won’t you just let me go?! I haven’t done anything! I can’t stay here! I can’t! Not with _him_!” Alice felt bile rise in her throat and she felt almost as sick to the stomach as she did whenever Jervis started trying to show how much he “loved” her.

Ever since she saw that Nurse Wright wasn’t her soul mate, Alice had torn herself apart both literally and figuratively over how screwed up it all was. How all she had wanted was to have someone that she could love who would love her, so she wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.

So she wouldn’t have to suffer through all of the horrors she’d been forced to suffer by herself. Alice wanted a shoulder to cry on of someone she could trust. Of her soul mate, of… of… wait…

And the worst part? It all hit her, that _she_ was the one responsible. She was the one who had been trying to force herself on Nurse Wright, like Jervis did to her, or… or at least, from what she could recall.

That it was Alice who purposefully _infected_ Alister. All because she was upset and wanted to prove to him that they were _meant to be_ if her blood had no effect. How could it have been such a terrible thing?

All she wanted to do was see if they could be together the way she’d wanted them to, so she could _show_ him… how much she loved… him… _No_ … Oh God NO! And that was when it _clicked_ … That without meaning too… she’d become like Jervis…

Alice began to scream and cry like a mad, wounded animal, as what very little was left of her sanity just snapped into so many jagged pieces to join the rest. “No… I _can’t_ …”

She started to sob so hard her whole body shook violently until it actually hurt. It slowly dawned on her, that she’d been doing the same thing to her one and only friend, the man she thought she _loved_ , that Jervis had done to her for all those years.

“Poor Alice _Tetch_. Betrayed her friend, and feels like such a _wretch_.” Hugo Strange mocked in that dark, humorous way of his, as that smile became a nasty sort of smirk. “No!” She whimpered; her face now soaked with tears. “I _c-can’t_ be… like _h-him_!” She argued pitifully, as if she’d been accused of the worst crime imaginable.

“Hmm.” He hummed in false musing. “Like _Jervis_ , you mean.” Her eyes bugged out and for a moment she froze and her breath caught; as if forgetting that she’d been crying. “How… h-how do you…?” She stammered as a sense of cold dread filled her up like a tub of ice water.

“He’s been calling for some time.” Hugo informed slowly; wanting the words to sink in so that Alice understood quite clearly. Jervis _knew_ she was here. He watched as the young woman’s brain processed this, how her eyes widened and how she paled like a ghost.

“Please… _Please!_ Don’t let him get me!” She sniveled; like a small child begging their parent not to let the monster under the bed get them. “Of course not, Alice. As long as you _behave_.” He promised in a soothing way; not planning on letter her go anyway. He paused for effect. “But I can’t have you trying to harm my staff or yourself, and I doubt you want to become any _more_ like Jervis, hm?”

All Alice could do was shake her head as a fresh wave of tears (real tears) trickled down her face. “Good… Now, I think you and Nurse Wright need some space. Which is why, from now on, you will be treated by Nurse Peters.” He more ordered than asked with a finality that even Alice knew not to argue with, no matter how much that dark voice in her mind tempted her to.

 

* * *

_**~To be continued...~** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing... this was intended to be a super short one-sided one-shot LoL that was gonna be 3,000 words max, buuuuuuut... yeah... kinda spiraled out of control and took on a life of its own. X3


	7. Because I'm Not Myself, You See

_**"I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, sir," said Alice, "because I'm not myself, you see.” ~Alice in Wonderland.** _

* * *

After that, Nurse Wright had been ordered by Dr. Strange to leave Alice to him and that he would help her get over the issues she believed that she suffered at the hands of her brother since she was to have more sessions with him.

Alister just nodded and went to attend to his daily duties; as it wasn’t the first time he’d been treated like crap and betrayed by someone who was supposed to be his friend. Not that that made it hurt any less mind you.

And being a nurse, Alister knew he would have to learn to numb himself better to that sort of thing. But at least now he wouldn’t have to deal with Alice and her descent into lovesick madness that he wanted no part of.

Of course now that he had more time to attend to patients up in Arkham, there was the weird added bonus of getting more random riddles shouted at him every time he passed the dayroom by a former co-worker from the GCPD, only to call answers back and be rewarded with either an ecstatic cackle or an agitated huff depending on how Ed felt at that time for Alis getting them correct.

And no, that wasn’t sarcasm. When the demonic caretaker had worked at the precinct, Alis didn’t think the beanpole of a guy was as bad as everyone thought he was. Kind of an egomaniac who thought he was better than most (if not all) sometimes, yeah. But at the same time, you could have a pleasant conversation with Ed if you didn’t mind the riddles, which Alis didn’t.

Then again, the silvery blond liked childish things like rhymes, riddles, stories and games, and used to think Alice was a nice person he whom he could have helped through patience and friendship, so what the hell did Alister know?

Still… Something about the whole Alice Tetch thing had been bothering him since he’d first met her. And he decided to do a little digging of his own; to hell with his bosses warnings. He had wanted to before, but Hugo preferred his staff only knew what he told them or wrote on the charts to better achieve his goals.

Now that Alice was no longer his responsibility, Alister doubted he would much care. It was then that he made quite a few discoveries, and chose to bring them to the mad scientists attention; or at least get a chance to express himself on the matter.

Hugo had been sitting at his desk in his underground office (as he had one topside as well) when a large stack of papers landed with a loud SMACK in front of him against the dark, polished wood. He didn’t even bother looking up from what he’d been reading. “Something troubling you, Nurse Wright?” He asked flippantly.

“ _Bothering_ me? What, that you allowed me to be aware of or confirmed my own diagnosis of the mental disorders the rest of the patients here suffered from _except_ important ones down here like Alice’s? Or that you _knew_ she’d end up fabricating some fairytale about her and I but just didn’t freakin’ feel like telling me for your own morbid ass amusement?! Because yeah, I think that would _bother_ me.” Alister vented; appearing quite vexed by the glare Hugo looked up to see being shot his way.

“Yes, well, I didn’t think she would go as far as she did. My theory was that she required a brother figure. How was I supposed to know she would go from hating her current one to trying to force herself on her new one?” He asked in earnest; leaning back in his seat as he observed the indignant halfling.

Alis sighed harshly and shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose; needing a moment to keep from smashing the bald jerks face in with any of the available blunt objects around the office.

“Yeah, well it would have been a damn help to know she has severe hallucinations where she believes in these twisted fantasies her mind comes up with. Or that she possibly has Chronic Hallucinatory Disorder and maybe some form of schizophrenia. At least then I might have been able to derail whatever pseudo-incestuous relationship she was crafting.” Alister placed his hands on the back of the seat across the desk from Strange; allowing his fingernails to dig into the faux leather because he just needed to damage something.

“And another thing! Did you ever think she was making up the abuse? I mean, I still have no idea what the whole story is on that, besides it involving her brother maybe, but what if it was all made up? How can we believe anything she’s said? Is Alice Tetch even her real name?” Quite a few quandaries that were steadily popping up the more he had looked into what Indian Hill _thought_ they knew about Alice.

At this, Hugo actually looked thoughtful, if not a little impressed a nurse had such an interesting thought process. “Hmm. Yes, I suppose we wouldn’t be able to trust anything she said. Although, I did look to see if Alice Tetch did exist.” He admitted.

“And?” A raised eyebrow; Alister’s curiosity getting the better of him as it tended to do.

“Well… She _did_ , at any rate.” Hugo gave a lofty wave of his hand.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Is she a fake identity or dead and someone is pretending to be here?” He really hated how cryptic this guy loved to be. And here he thought Ed was one for riddles.

“Oh she’s _certainly_ dead! And I believe our “Alice” is not only pretending, she _believes_ she’s Alice.” The bespectacled baldy seemed quite amused by this. But Alister was not. “Figures…” He sighed. “Any known relatives?”

“Now why would you assume I’d be aware of-” Hugo began to lie; such an easy thing for him. But the halfling knew better by now.

“Because if she has a special ability you can use and manipulate and there’s a possibility she has siblings who do as well, you’d benefit from that kind of knowledge, _Doctor_.” He cut in briskly and ended with a rather obviously fake smile. “To underrate me so would be _unwise_ , I’ve always seen through _your_ disguise.”

“Apologies, Nurse Wright. How ill of me to be so impolite. Though your name seems to suit you so very well I’m glad to see.” Hugo essentially confirmed with a smooth chuckle as he supposed the other had a valid point.

“As does yours, Doctor Strange.” He shot back just as easily; though he still looked annoyed. “So? How ‘bout those siblings or relatives?”

“Heh, very well. She, I mean the real Alice, not ours, had an older brother. Seemed he went quite _mad_ after her demise and apparently has miraculously managed to instill the idea of our “Alice” as being his sister and gave the poor girl her name.” Hugo informed as he got up and went over to rifle through one of his many file cabinets.

“Wouldn’t be too hard since her condition would make her easily susceptible to pretty much anything. But how? Can’t have been drugs or they’d be out of her system long ago.” Alis mused with a frown.

“Here. Read this. It’s all I know about our “Alice” and the one she masquerades as. Let me know what you think once you’ve finished.” The psycho psychiatrist said as he offered up a file about half as thick as the one dropped on his desk earlier.

Hugo had come to see the potential in Nurse Wright not long after he had joined Arkham, and couldn’t help thinking he’d make quite a capable protégé of sorts if he could just get him over to his own side of thinking. Perhaps offering up such a boon might help? If nothing else, it would at least entertain him for a while.

Alis eyed the pale yellow file as if it might go off like a bear trap on his hand, before cautiously picking it up and opening it. The professor let him stay and read it whilst he worked on his own papers, and well… There was a lot to learn from such a small amount of material.

Apparently the real Alice Tetch died at a very early age in some tragic accident that befell their family. She was between seven and eight years old, but her older brother Jervis had been quite attached to her. Their parents died as well, but Jervis survived, and from what the file explained, suffered from a mental break due to survivors guilt.

The file and newspaper clipping stapled to it said the cause of their deaths was a car accident involving multiple cars. About four other people died apart from Jervis’ sister and their parents, and ones like Jervis were injured and considered lucky to be alive. Though how anyone losing loved ones was considered lucky, Alis had no idea.

After that, Jervis became the sole heir of the small fortune his parents had left behind as well as their estate and was taken care of by his uncle who had Jervis admitted to some psychiatric rehabilitation facility. Huh…

Didn’t seem to be much about him after that. No records; criminal or otherwise. It was like he just sort of vanished from the public eye. But the rest of the pieces of paper were newspaper articles and missing persons reports of young girls of varying age and eye color, but all with light, almost golden brown hair, ash brown or even blonde that had gone missing around the country.

It was obvious no one made the connection due to there being so many different girls that were being picked at slightly older ages and at different times, and the large gaps of time in-between their abductions.

But it was plain for Alis to see that Jervis must have taken to abducting girls and brainwashing them somehow. Probably hypnotism, Alister would bet his Wonderland book on it. And tried to make them into replacements for his lost sister.

“Guess he needed someone to love and to love him back.” Alis stated more than asked after a while of reading; frowning and oddly feeling bad for the guy. Hugo gives a confirming “Hmm.”

The nimble minded nurse figured Jervis had probably gotten increasingly creepier in his descent into madness and need for family, combined possibly with the vexing desire to find ones soul mate once he hit puberty; as Alis remembered how horrible and hormonal he’d felt when it hit him. _That_ was a case for therapy all on its own.

Which undoubtedly wound up being why Jervis went from wanting a sister to needing a lover, or soul mate as it were. As some of the papers were the written sessions between the fake “Alice” and Hugo where Alister learned Jervis had started trying to put romantic and sexual thoughts into her head. That must’ve been where she got the idea that she was being molested or violated in whatever capacity she’d dreamed up.

It wasn’t like Alis could go around trying to set the record straight anywhere or go to the police to point out the string of murders. He was no one really, and not only that, but what if he accidentally gained the attention of this Jervis guy and it lead him straight to “Alice” or whoever this woman really was?

Plus, he wasn’t supposed to know about any of this since he worked in a top secret underground facility. Alister doubted any good could come of any of it. He figured if he blabbed that they’d try to make sure he wound up dead in a gutter or as a lab rat, and frankly he’d rather be dead in a gutter. Not that they’d probably know how to kill something like him.

Even so, Alis did his best to keep an eye on this particular predicament as best he could from a safe distance, just in case more girls went missing. He just had the strangest feeling this was all rather important somehow…

 

* * *

**_~To be continued...~_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before anyone gets all pissy and is all "So did he rape her or not?" the answer is a resounding NO! No Jervis did NOT rape, molest or harm "Alice" in ANY physical way. Unless you call hugs that go on a little too long, light kisses on her hand or cheek freakin' count. If they do then he did make her uncomfortable. But he didn't rape her. Unfortunately for Jervis, when he was trying to put romantic thoughts and suggestions into her head, her mental condition warped them and she couldn't tell reality from fantasy and misconstrued the whole thing and truly believed she was violated, when in reality, it was just her disorder that had her all messed up. I get it if this is hard to understand. I used to have a close friend who suffered from the condition I gave to Alice, and she used to believe her house was haunted and she was being raped and molested by ghosts. I kid you not! It was NOT funny and it seriously had her scared to death, okay? So please don't mock. And mind you, she was on a crap ton of meds that was "supposed" to help. So... yeah. I figured this was the best way to change it around so Jervis wasn't a rapist or any of the junk Gotham is trying to make him out to be and I hope, since the DC universe is filled with tons of people with a variety of mental disorders, that this is believable enough. Anywho, this is better explained in my fic "Why the Hatter's Mad" for anyone who is interested. X3


	8. Which Dreamed It?

  _ **"What's past is prologue." ~The Tempest.** _

* * *

Hugo had been making fairly good progress with the girl in his opinion. He’d started her on a few different medications to see which one worked best, and just for fun. He even did some hypnotism to help her work through some of her issues and come to terms with the fact that Jervis wasn’t the only one in her family that had fallen prey to insanity, as apparently she was stuck with the belief that Jervis was her actual brother, so Hugo had to work with what he had.

He found Alice was highly susceptible to hypnosis and reacted to it much better than medication, though he still made sure to keep her on it until he felt she no longer required it. Soon he had her back to as sound a mind as he could give her since she hadn’t been all that stable to begin with.

Putting Alice Tetch’s mind back together was like gluing back the pieces of a shattered tea cup. It would never be the same, and was probably only best to keep safely tucked away in a cupboard where no one would bother it or be bothered by any stray shards sticking out.

Though she was still fearful of her brother coming to get her and the fact that inevitably fate would draw him into Alister’s path, she was much calmer now and wasn’t climbing the walls screaming about how she needed Nurse Wright, as that ship had sailed once she found out he belonged to Jervis, or about how they were soul mates (as she now knew that was not so) and then crying hysterically about how she and her brother weren’t the same.

A few months later, when the time came for the inmates of Indian Hill to escape with Fish Mooney, Alice made sure to get the hell out of there; wanting nothing more to do with the place or the painful memories of the compassionate nurse that worked there or whatever hellish future fate and her brother had in store for him.

Alice knew she should’ve left Gotham, gotten as far from where her brother knew she might be as possible. But the dark, dank city was such a perfect place to hide. Whether it was from her brother or from that darker self that sometimes tried to claw its way from where she’d shoved it deep, deep down into the recesses of her mind to try and pick apart what was left of her sanity.

The bonkers brunette didn’t dare go near Arkham again. But she remained in the city; hoping maybe, with time, and if she and Alister ever crossed paths again that maybe, _just_ _maybe_ they could be friends again.

However, fate never let her have the chance, as Jervis found her and her fretful days of trying to fight off her literal and figurative demons came to an abrupt and gruesome end…

Despite the death of the false Alice Tetch, life went on for the citizens of Gotham as if nothing had happened. Although, two things changed upon the event of Alice’s death… firstly, somewhere in the city, a man named William Haskell, with the soul mark “ _Billy_ ” was sent to the hospital after the painful and traumatic event of his destined soul mate dying and his mark burning away caused him to fall into a coma.

But the second, and probably most significant event to occur, was for Jervis to collapse painfully to his knees later that night as he felt as if his chest was on fire. It was so painful and horrible, and yet somehow so bafflingly wonderful.

Unbuttoning his shirt with shaky fingers and pulling the soft fabric back, Jervis stared at down at his chest, completely gobsmacked as he forgot how to breath. Dark maroon eyes gawked in amazement and disbelief at the neat, sharp cursive of “ _Jervis_ ” scrawled in a peculiarly _enchanting_ violet color…!

After what seemed like forever, Jervis’ shocked expression melted away into a Cheshire grin, as tears of joy trickled down his face and a quiet, shaky laugh left his lips. He quickly removed his gloves; his fingers fumbling a little in his haste.

And ever so carefully reached up and touched the soul mark; immeasurably frightened that if he wasn’t so cautious and gentle with it, that it would either vanish like some sort of cruel trick or he might wake up and discover that he’d only dreamed it.

Jervis closed his eyes and breathed a sigh he felt like he’d been holding since he first learned of soul mates and just laughed and laughed and _laughed_. Completely and shockingly forgetting all about the death of his sister earlier, as the marvelous fact that he finally got his mark consumed his thoughts.

At last! Confirmation that there _was_ another half to his soul still out there! Just waiting for him to _find_ and _claim_ them! Oh and how he would most gladly do so! But first, oh but first he needed to make that nasty Jim Gordon pay!

Must not forget one wrong simply for one right, even if he had managed to do so for a few minutes. Still, as he plotted his revenge, Jervis couldn’t help the excited little trills that snuck up on him every time he thought about who his soul mate was and where they might be as he absentmindedly reached up to touch his chest every now and then. Partly to make sure it was still there, but mostly just to relish that he _finally_ had one.

Being a hopeless romantic, and an insane one to boot, Jervis didn’t care about his destined ones gender or even if they were with someone. He could easily remove any obstacle that got between him and his soul mate, of that he was most certain!

That night, when Jervis happily planned and fantasized, he hummed a childish and giddy tune. And far on the other side of Gotham, as a particular nimble nurse filed paperwork, Alis found himself humming some silly tune; not knowing where it was from or why he felt like humming.

Without really thinking about it, Alis muttered “Curiouser and _curiouser_ …” Before chuckling at his own silliness and gave a little shrug as he went back to humming; being rather thankful for the welcomed good mood that settled over him.

 

* * *

_**~Continued in "Why the Hatter's Mad"~** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! I hope ya’ll enjoyed it. I rewrote and edited this thing like five or six times LoL. Please let me know by reviewing/commenting. Please don’t be too harsh. I know it seems odd I made him quote random stuff, but that’s what I do irl. Lmmfao! I enjoy jokes, puzzles, riddles, crime solving shows/cartoons/manga/movies/etc, rhymes, reading, and a lot of the stuff my character enjoys. I felt it gave him more personality to base his on that of someone in real life to help make him a bit more relatable/believable/enjoyable.  
> The fic "Why the Hatter's Mad" is basically the origin story I chose to give this version of Jervis Tetch.


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